i fought the law and the law won
by MissingMommy
Summary: While on a trip through the galaxy for Dennis' birthday, him and Colin get accused of being spies. The captor's tactics to get a confession is to keep them in a freezing cell until one of them breaks.


"Did you have to do that?" Dennis asks when he hears the door of the Bridge open. He swings the pilot's seat of around and gets up to allow his brother to take his spot. "Do you know how angry they are?"

His brother gives him a wide, toothy smile. "You know what they say: go out with a bang."

"Your 'bang' got us permanently banned from Beauxbatons," Dennis replies, folding his arms across his chest and giving Colin an unimpressed look.

Colin allows the chair to turn around, and pulls up their map. He sets coordinates for Durmstrang. It's a bit of a bumpy ride out of Beauxbatons atmosphere. "It wasn't that bad," he argues.

"You better hope we don't need to land on Beauxbatons again because they think it was bad," he says sharply.

He loves his brother to death, but Colin doesn't take things seriously. He often finds himself tempering Colin's naivety even though two years separate them.

"I thought Hogwarts was our next stop," he comments.

Colin lights up with excitement, his eyes wide and grinning like a madman. "I was listening to some person tell stories of the dark, snowy mountains of Durmstrang. They move in the wind, Dennis. Moving mountains! Ha!"

* * *

Groaning, Dennis opens his eyes. He's no longer on the ship with Colin. In fact, he's chained to a chair, alone in the room. It looks like a police interrogation room, but that doesn't make any sense; why would they be arrested?

They had done nothing wrong. Dennis had gotten authorization to both land on and leave Beauxbatons. He frowns. They hadn't even made it to Durmstrang. Fear runs down his spine. Whoever can catch a spaceship doing hyperjumps must be terrifying.

He doesn't have to wait long before he's graced with a presence. The creature is scaly, with large eyes. It looks like one of the lizards back home, but it stands on two legs and is wearing clothes. He may be young but he doesn't live under a rock; he knows that there have been whispers of war and that these lizard-men are loyal to the Galactic Authority.

It opens its mouth to speak but he only heards unintelligible gurgling.

"I can't—" he clears his throat. "Uh, I can't understand you."

"You are a spy!"

"That definitely clears that up," Dennis says flatly. "I can assure you that I'm no spy."

It hisses at him. "Lies! Filthy, filthy lies. We've been tracking you. You are a spy."

"I'm really not a spy. My brother and I are travelling to some other planets for my birthday. Well, we were. After Durmstrang, we would be returning home," he says.

"We will get a confession. One way or another. Perhaps a few nights in our cells is in order. That might loosen your tongue."

Several more of the lizard-men enter the room. One unlocks the chains tying him to the chair with a key while the others haul him up and direct him out of the room. He wonders where his brother is.

He gets his question not long after. The lizard-men shove him into a cell and lock the door with a key. "Dennis?"

Turning around, he sees his brother. Colin looks unhurt as he crosses the space and pulls him into a hug. "I was worried about you."

"I'm fine. I'm fine," he whispers, burying his face in his brother's shoulder. He sighs in pleasure at the warmth Colin is radiating. He didn't realize how cold he was until then.

* * *

Dennis doesn't know how long they've been here. The lack of a window makes it difficult to judge how much time has passed. Food comes in intervals, but that doesn't help either. He wonders if anyone is looking for them.

He loses hope of being saved a little more every day, but Colin, oh Colin doesn't. When he looks at his brother, Colin grins at him, bright and easy, as if they're not locked away in some cold place they don't know.

They sit side by side, the thin, holey blanket that was in the room spread across their laps. Their clothing is too light and airy for the cold, and despite huddling together, they shiver. It feels like he'll never be warm again.

"Do—do you think we'll get out of here?" he asks.

He can hear the smile in his brother's voice. He sounds confident when he says, "Of course we will."

Nodding his head, he closes his eyes and rests his head against Colin's shoulder. "'m tired."

Colin tucks him impossibly closer. "Sleep. I'll wake you up when the food comes."

* * *

After so long confined, Dennis feels antsy. He wants to get up and move around but that requires him moving from away from Colin, from their shared body heat, and right now, he thinks that's the only thing that's keeping him alive.

"What's the first thing you'd do if you could escape?" Colin asks.

"Cel—" his voice cracks from disuse. He swallows and tries again. "Celebrate. Then go home and see Mum and Dad."

His brother hums. There's a trace of a smile in Colin's voice as he says, "Bet they'll love that. We've been away for far too long."

He scowls. "Because you always listened to a rumor about another beautiful planet to visit."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" he asks softly. "Promise me you'd go home to Mum and Dad, that you'd live your life if you got away."

Sitting up, he turns to look at his brother. Instead of the easy smile Colin wears, he looks completely serious. "What are you on about? I leave with you or not at all."

"Promise me, Dennis."

"I won't promise you that," he says. "I won't leave you behind."

His answer doesn't dissuade Colin, who keeps insisting he make the promise. They go in circles until Colin tugs him back next to him as they both shiver.

"I have no doubt that we will be saved. But if the worst case happens, I want to know that you'll be safe," Colin says. His words are muffled by Dennis' hair, but they echo in the silent cell.

Dennis closes his eyes, hearing the defeat in Colin's voice; he never thought he'd see a day when Colin got scared. He whispers, "I promise."

If his brother is losing hope, there really must not be any hope to have.

* * *

He coughs. It causes his throat to ache and his head to pound. He's always gotten sicker easier than Colin has, and it doesn't surprise him that lengthy expose to the cold and little food would cause him to come down sick. They both know that without medicine, he'll die.

His brother's arm pulls him closer. Colin whispers against his head. "It's okay. I'm going to save you."

Dennis tries to demand an explanation of what Colin's talking about, but only coughs rattle in his ribcage. Colin slips away from him. A rush of cold hits him hard, and he starts to violently shiver.

Colin holds onto the bars of their cells, pressing his thin face against them. Then he's shouting, "I confess! I confess. I'm the spy!"

"Co—" he breaks off, coughing more. He tries to get up but he loses balance easily. He tries to crawl towards Colin. "Wat—doin'?"

His brother turns to give him a smile; it's nothing like the bright, happy smiles he's seen all his life. "I'm saving you."

The lizard-men are quick to respond. Within moments they gather around the cell. "Have you decided to confess your crimes?"

Colin nods sharply. "I am the spy. I was working alone. I used my brother to cover up my illegal activities because no one would think to suspect me to be a spy. I have proof that he is not involved in any of this."

The words fall so effortlessly from his brother's lips that there is no doubt that he's rehearsed them.

"Very well, traitor," the one closest says, unlocking the cell. "We will execute you at dawn. We will move the other one to a different cell until the evidence is shown."

Colin makes no move to escape when two lizard-men enter the cell. They wrap their arms around Dennis' arms and haul him to his feet. Dennis tries to shout, to fight, to do anything but his body won't obey his commands.

"I love you, Dennis," Colin says, his voice heavy with fear. "Remember your promise."

* * *

Dennis stands outside his childhood home, thinking only of the last time he had seen Colin. He shivers despite the heat. He raises his hand to knock before dropping it.

He doesn't know how to tell his parents that Colin was killed. Colin would have no issues with opening the door and announcing their return if he was here; the thought of that makes him ache. Colin had always been the more outgoing between the pair of them.

He wonders if it's going to get better, if there will come a time when tears don't well up in his eyes at the thought of his brother.

By the time his father opens the door, Dennis collapses on the porch, his shoulders shaking with the force of his sobs.

* * *

Hogwarts, Assignment 9, Arts and Crafts, Task 10: Write about a bubbly and cheerful person

72: blue - time

Map: 223 - space!au and 257 - (trope) Huddling together for warmth

CA: 21. (Family) Eldest Son

Lizzy's: 9. (relationship) brothers

Showtime: 1. (word) Balance

Buttons: D2 - "You know what they say, go out with a bang.", C3 - Dennis Creevey

Ami's: 2. Alt: Write about being wrongly blamed

Sophie's: P7 - Write about someone being executed

Bex's: 10. Alternatively, write a space!au

365: 214. Plot Point - Protecting Someone

Insane: 483. Item - Key


End file.
